abstract

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ABSTRACT

An Analysis of the Media’s Coverage of the Columbine High School and Sandy Hook Elementary School Shootings

(Under the direction of Dr. Kathleen W. Wickham)

The primary purpose of the current research was to determine what ethical challenges have evolved for journalists covering breaking news stories, focusing on the differences in print coverage between the 1999 Columbine school shooting and the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting.

A total of 435 news stories originating from the Denver Post, the Hartford Courant and the Chicago Tribune were used in the analysis, categorized by type, main point, length and tone of each article.

Overall, several of the findings were consistent with the literature. Two results hold major implications for the journalism field. First, the increase in interpretative, opinion pieces shows a change in the role of the modern journalist, such that journalists now place a higher priority on telling the public what to think, rather than what to think about. Second, the advent of online and social media has created new obstacles for journalists covering breaking news.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES ...v

LIST OF FIGURES ...vi

INTRODUCTION ...1

LITERATURE REVIEW ...2

METHODOLOGY ...21

QUALITATIVE RESULTS ...26

DISCUSSION ...50

LIST OF REFERENCES ...56 APPENDIX A

APPENDIX B

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 A Comparison of Fundamental Differences in the Columbine and Sandy Hook Shootings ...27

Table 2 Denver Post Columbine Coverage Codebook ...Appendix A

Table 3 Chicago Tribune Columbine Coverage Codebook ...Appendix A

Table 4 Hartford Courant Sandy Hook Coverage Codebook ...Appendix A

Table 5 Chicago Tribune Sandy Hook Coverage Codebook ...Appendix A

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Types of Articles in Denver Post Columbine Coverage ...29 Figure 2 Types of Articles in Hartford Courant Sandy Hook Coverage ...30

Figure 3 A Comparison of Types of Articles in Denver Post and Hartford Courant Coverage of Columbine and Sandy Hook ...30

Figure 4 Types of Articles in Chicago Tribune Columbine Coverage ...31

Figure 5 Types of Articles in Chicago Tribune Sandy Hook Coverage ...32

Figure 6 A Comparison of Types of Articles in Chicago Tribune Coverage of Columbine and Sandy Hook ...33

Figure 7 Main Points of Articles in Denver Post Columbine Coverage ...34

Figure 8 Main Points of Articles in Hartford Courant Sandy Hook Coverage ....35

Figure 9 A Comparison of Main Points of Articles in Denver Post and Hartford Courant Coverage of Columbine and Sandy Hook ...36

Figure 10 Main Points of Articles in Chicago Tribune Columbine Coverage ...37

Figure 11 Main Points of Articles in Chicago Tribune Sandy Hook Coverage ...37

Figure 12 A Comparison of Main Points of Articles in Chicago Tribune Coverage of Columbine and Sandy Hook ...38

Figure 13 Length of Articles in Hartford Courant Sandy Hook Coverage ...40

Figure 14 Length of Articles in Chicago Tribune Columbine Coverage ...41

Figure 15 Length of Articles in Chicago Tribune Sandy Hook Coverage ...42

Figure 16 A Comparison of Length of Articles in Chicago Tribune Coverage of Columbine and Sandy Hook ...43

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Figure 17 Tone of Articles in Denver Post Columbine Coverage ...44

Figure 18 Tone of Articles in Hartford Courant Columbine Coverage ...44

Figure 19 A Comparison of Tone of Articles in Denver Post and Hartford Courant Coverage of Columbine and Sandy Hook ...45

Figure 20 Tone of Articles in Chicago Tribune Columbine Coverage ...46

Figure 21 Tone of Articles in Chicago Tribune Sandy Hook Coverage ...46

Figure 22 A Comparison of Tone of Articles in Chicago Tribune Coverage of Columbine and Sandy Hook ...47

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INTRODUCTION

Journalism has experienced a profound and fast-‐paced evolution over the past thirteen years, embarking on an ever-‐changing journey to disseminate information to the public in the most rapid, attention-‐grabbing way. In the 21^st Century, the media has continued to adapt to a twenty-‐four-‐hour news cycle, now befit with blogs, social media and a rabid cable news network, shedding an

increasing amount of light on the currency of fundamental ethical principles of reporting.

The impact of these changes can be viewed from the print coverage of two major news events: the 1999 Columbine High School shooting and the December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Because of the sheer magnitude of coverage across all media platforms, the research will focus primarily on print coverage of these events while examining the effects of other mediums on print publications.

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LITERATURE REVIEW

The literature will first explore the key ethical principles of American journalism and media coverage, as defined by organizations such as the Society of Professional Journalists and authors such as Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel. The purpose is to provide the standards journalists are challenged to hold. Secondly, the review will examine the basic similarities and differences between the Columbine and Sandy Hook shootings, delving specifically into the coverage of these events in order to assess journalists’ adherence to these ethical standards in their reporting.

Next, the review will analyze the evolution of print media coverage in the new millennium, focusing on an increasing emphasis on interpretative over

informational reporting, the effects of technological advances that led to the Internet explosion, increases in citizen journalism and the continued corporate

conglomeration of news organizations. Lastly, the literature will review the

challenges and ethical concerns of today’s reporting, comparing and contrasting the print coverage of Columbine and Sandy Hook to assess if there has indeed been an ethical downfall within the media in recent years, and if so, what solutions are available to combat the challenges technology and new media have presented to the press.

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Key Ethical Principles of Journalism

The Society of Professional Journalists asserts that “public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy.”¹ From the inception of the earliest forms of journalism to today’s modern media, journalism has been for the people, a backbone of conversation and community that empowers citizens to use their voices and listen to those of others. A journalist carries the responsibility of informing, influencing and inciting the public to action. Thus, journalists must carry out their democratic mission with the assistance of carefully crafted moral guidelines in order to best serve the public’s interests.

Although several journalistic codes of ethics and spoken and unspoken professional guidelines exist, the literature will focus on the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics—henceforth referred to as “the code”—as a benchmark for the expected level of integrity journalists should maintain in their reporting, for

“professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist’s credibility.” The code is composed of four broad-‐sweeping mandates: (1) Seek Truth and Report It; (2) Minimize Harm; (3) Act Independently; and (4) Be Accountable.² The full code is attached in Appendix B.

The following subsections summarize the key points of the code and put them in context of The Elements of Journalism.

1 Society of Professional Journalists. “SPJ Code of Ethics.”

http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp (accessed October 15, 2013).

2 Ibid.

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Seek Truth and Report It

Authors Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel of The Elements of Journalism state,

“Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth.”³ Without truth and verification of fact, journalism dissipates into ordinary communication, entertainment and even

fiction.⁴ This particularly applies to coverage of Sandy Hook, where reports seemed more focused on simply maintaining the public’s interest than providing them with useful, accurate information.

The code compels journalists to “be honest, fair and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information,” listing duties such as “test the accuracy of information from all sources,” “identify sources whenever feasible” and “distinguish between advocacy and news reporting.”⁵ Kovach and Rosenstiel explain the

importance of these items in their discussion of anonymous sourcing. The authors encourage that this method generally be avoided, insisting that news organizations wait to run stories until they have been independently confirmed and sources have been corroborated. The use of confidential or anonymous sources ultimately weakens the journalist’s credibility and relationship with his or her audience.⁶ Journalists’ commitment to accuracy is not a new concept. As democratic theory took hold, editors of some of the earliest newspapers in England, France, Germany, Spain, America and beyond promised to rely on strong sources and

fervently pursue the truth. Kovach and Rosenstiel state that these newspapers knew

3 Kovach, Bill and Tom Rosenstiel. The Elements of Journalism. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2007.

4 Kovach, Bill and Tom Rosenstiel. 79.

6 Kovach, Bill and Tom Rosenstiel. 106-‐109.

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the importance of credibility, even if their publications sometimes strayed from the truth.⁷

Now, as new information technology and conglomeration of news outlets test the age-‐old principle of truth, the authors assert the inherent need of this value to uphold journalism and society in their entirety: “Accuracy is the foundation upon which everything else is built: context, interpretation, debate, and all of public communication. If the foundation is faulty, everything else is flawed.”⁸ In the case of Sandy Hook, providing citizens with inaccurate, incomplete information more quickly (via social media) did not serve the public’s best interests. It only diminished credibility and damaged the media’s relationship with its primary stakeholder, the public.

Minimize Harm

The code describes the principle of minimizing harm as treating “sources, subjects and colleagues as human beings deserving of respect.” Specific examples of minimizing harm that especially pertain to coverage of the Columbine and Sandy Hook shootings include showing “compassion for those who may be affected

adversely by news overage,” showing “good taste” and avoiding “pandering to lurid curiosity.”⁹ Both school shootings involved minors, and in the case of Sandy Hook, young children. Reporters had to take into consideration that interviewees were grieving family members, friends and five-‐year-‐olds.

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Act Independently

As news conglomerates challenge the independence of journalists, the code encourages the media to be “free of obligation to any interest other than the public’s right to know.” Journalists should “avoid conflicts of interest” and “disclose

unavoidable conflicts” with their audience and employers. They must also “remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility,”¹⁰ including collaboration with other news organizations or wire

services. Kovach and Rosenstiel touch on the concept of independence, encouraging journalists to do their own work rather than rely on stories already “out there.”¹¹ A heavy reliance on already-‐published stories doomed Sandy Hook coverage, for instead of independently verifying information, organizations chose to publish immediately for the sake of time.

Be Accountable

Journalists’ first loyalty is to the public, thus, the code insists that journalists

“admit mistakes and correct them promptly,” “expose unethical practices of journalists and the news media,” and abide by the same high standards to which they hold others.”¹² Promoting this level of transparency and accountability in the newsroom allows the public to understand that news organizations are putting forth their best effort, even if mistakes arise.

Kovach and Rosenstiel state, “The key element of credibility is the perceived motive of the journalist. People do not expect perfection. They do expect good

10 Ibid.

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intentions.”¹³ Thus, being accountable implies that the journalist do his or her best in verifying and reporting the news. The facts should be verified, sources should be checked and corroborated, and the story must be truthful and relevant to the audience. If a reporter has done his or due diligence to put forth a complete and accurate story, the public will recognize these efforts.

***

Each of these ethical standards came into question throughout the evolution of media between the Columbine shooting of 1999 and the Sandy Hook shooting of 2012. To better understand journalism’s ethical dilemma at hand, the literature will next examine the essential differences between the two events and their coverage.

Differences Between Columbine and Sandy Hook

The Columbine massacre occurred April 20, 1999, in Littleton, Colorado. Two high school students, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, shot and killed twelve students and one teacher and eventually killed themselves. With 24 others from the school injured, the media immediately focused its undivided attention on the shootings. In Dan Trigoboff’s cover story published a year after the shooting, "Lessons Of

Columbine,” he states:

[The shootings] held a national television audience transfixed and somber.

Clearly, it was not the first tragedy covered live, nor was it the first school shooting. But the combination of children in the crossfire, a comfortable suburban venue, vivid and memorable images, and an unpredictable drama

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played out in real time before local and national network cameras created an indelible image for television.¹⁴

Television and newspaper coverage of the major news event was constant, with roughly a month being dedicated mostly to the shootings and ensuing

questions and public outcry.¹⁵ Media coverage exhausted both the public and the news outlets themselves as second, third and fourth-‐day stories were released and new angles on the shooting explored.¹⁶

Journalists swarmed Littleton, doing whatever it took to get the story from victims, neighbors and others. Trigoboff’s article states, “In the hours and days following the shootings . . . the town was flooded with reporters, and students and their family were inundated with flowers, fruit baskets and good wishes on behalf of famous journalists seeking ‘the get.’”¹⁷ The “get” is an industry term used by

national reporters to underscore the push for exclusive interviews with major sources in a fast-‐breaking, natural story.

This bombardment of media coverage resulted in a “drawing in” of the Littleton community, still reeling from the aftershocks of the massacre. “The

14 Trigoboff, Dan. "Lessons of Columbine." Broadcasting & Cable 130, no. 14 (April 3, 2000): 26-‐31. http://search.proquest.com/docview/225323288?accountid=14588 (accessed March 6, 2013).

15 Strupp, Joe. 1999. "Denver news overload." Editor & Publisher 132, no. 18: 12.

Vocational and Career Collection, EBSCOhost (accessed October 15, 2013).

16 Moses, Lucia. 2000. "High tragedy spurs Denver coverage." Editor & Publisher 133, no. 16: 28. Vocational and Career Collection, EBSCOhost (accessed October 15, 2013).

17 Trigoboff, Dan. "Lessons of Columbine." Broadcasting & Cable 130, no. 14 (April 3, 2000): 26-‐31. http://search.proquest.com/docview/225323288?accountid=14588 (accessed October 15, 2013).

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phenomenal attention given the community in its time of deepest tragedy . . . made residents wary of the media, particularly the national media.”¹⁸

Over thirteen years later, shootings had become more common, as seen at Virginia Tech on April 17, 2007, Fort Hood on November 5, 2009, and a Colorado movie theater on July 20, 2012. The media was more saturated than ever before. On December 14, 2012, Adam Lanza shot and killed twenty children and six faculty members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, killing his mother and himself.¹⁹ The shooting became known as the second deadliest school shooting in American history, falling only to the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre in Blacksburg, Virginia, where 32 people were killed before the shooter committed suicide.

News of the shooting spread instantaneously with the contagious nature of the Internet and social media hubs such as Facebook and Twitter. Cable news networks also broadcasted the first information made available, focusing more on the dissemination of information rather than the actual accuracy of said

information. As Simon Houpt noted:

[Multiple] media outlets were forced to apologize to viewers and readers—

and, in the case of some popular blogs, to take the unusual step of deleting stories—after much of the information that emerged . . . was discounted.

Elements of the story that were initially reported inaccurately included the suspect's name, his mother's affiliation with the school, his own affiliation

18 Ibid.

19 "Sandy Hook's little heroes; Massacre Kids Back At School." Daily Mirror. January 4, 2013 Friday. www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic (accessed October 15, 2013).

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with the school, how he gained entry to the school and the murder of his brother (who is alive and well).²⁰

The misinformation had grave consequences, drawing harsh criticism for news organizations’ recklessness in prioritizing speed in reporting above

truthfulness and accuracy and for the subsequent “witch-‐hunt” for the suspect’s brother.²¹

Evolution of Media Coverage in the New Millennium Interpretative v. Informational Reporting

Based on the code, analysis and commentary should be clearly distinguished from traditional news writing. However, by the late ‘90s, broadcast news in

particular had departed from straight news talk, instead focusing on an Argument Culture where news personalities were pitted against each other in advocating opposite sides of controversial issues. In print, columns, op-‐eds and commentary often frequent newspapers, not always clearly marked as the opinion pieces they are. While journalists easily make the distinction between news and opinion, the public becomes lost in an era where the “mass media no longer help identify a common set of issues.”²²

Kovach and Rosenstiel state, “One of the risks of the new proliferation of outlets, talk programs, blogs, and interpretative reporting is that these forms have

20 Houpt, Simon. "Messy media coverage's trail of mistakes; News outlets and social media rush to deliver details, spreading misinformation as events unfolded." The Globe and Mail (Canada). December 17, 2012.

www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic (accessed October 15, 2013).

21 Ibid.

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left verification behind. A debate between opponents with false figures or purely on prejudice fails to inform. It only inflames. It takes the society nowhere.”²³

Instead of providing citizens with a public forum where information is clear and accurate, journalists focused on debate and over-‐analysis perpetuate a system of a “diminished level of reporting” and in turn “disenfranchise people from the public discussion that the media […] need for their own survival.”²⁴

The Internet Explosion

The trail from the Columbine shootings to the Sandy Hook massacre involved a whirlwind of technological advances, corporate mergers and dramatic changes to the journalism field. Within the roughly thirteen-‐year time frame, cable news remained a dominant force, the Internet became a greater news source than ever before, and social media made news more interactive and fast-‐paced. Computer scientist Vinton G. Cerf states:

Technology is changing the economics of journalism. In radio and

television time is limited. In print journalism space is limited. But on the Internet there is essentially an unlimited amount of time and an unlimited amount of space. The limitation is the attention span of the Internet users.²⁵ This makes for an exponential amount of news exposure, creating a more complex, media-‐imbued world.

Maxwell E.P. King, former editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer, adds, “[This

25 Cerf, Vinton G. "How the Internet Is Changing the Concept of Journalism." Speech.

Third Conference on Innovative Journalism.

http://innovationjournalism.org/archive/INJO-‐3-‐4/cerf.pdf (accessed October 15, 2013).

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age] is frightening in its rapidly increasing complexity, and it challenges our faith in the straightforward values of the simpler time at which our country was founded.”²⁶ Not only has technology changed the way the public receives news, but online reporting also obligates reporters to create more engaging, eye-‐catching stories, headlines and photography, while also maintaining the traditionally painstakingly high standard of accuracy. King continues, “This kind of journalism takes relentless, driving reporting, fueled by passionate commitment to digging at and into the truth.”²⁷

The balance between vivid, exciting reporting and truthfulness has presented significant challenges in the journalism field, apparent in the coverage of Columbine and garish in the Sandy Hook reporting.

Citizen Journalism and the Power of News Conglomerates

Citizen journalism and news conglomerates also play a significant role in today’s dissemination of news. Bloggers, social media gurus and everyday people take to the Web daily, creating and sharing news just as quickly—if not more so—

than a traditional news outlet. In an interview, Tom Rosenstiel said:

We now live in a user controlled media world. People are their own editors, and the ability of the press to function as a gatekeeper over what the public sees, or to force-‐feed the public what it should know, is over. Our public discourse is now going to be a collaboration between citizens and consumers

26 King, Maxwell E.P. 1995. "The evolution of journalism." Vital Speeches Of The Day 62, no. 5: 150-‐152. Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed October 15, 2013).

27 Ibid.

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of information, and the sources from which they get that information.²⁸ Although this collaboration has its benefits, in the case of the Sandy Hook shooting, inaccurate reports flooded social media networks such as Twitter, where news organizations and citizens alike spread misinformation and rumor.

Journalistic principles of accuracy and verification were seemingly irrelevant.

Public interest cyber-‐lawyer Paul Alan Levy addresses citizen journalism and traditional ethical guidelines as they pertain to bloggers, writing, “I don’t find any distinction between journalism and blogging. The same rule applies equally to journalism and the other people because the First Amendment applies to everyone.”²⁹

Thus, the danger in citizen journalism rests in that those lacking journalistic training or principles perpetuate a system of sloppy, often inaccurate journalism that fails to meet the public’s needs.

As for the conglomeration of news organizations, these monopolies hurt journalistic independence and allow multiple connected news outlets to reproduce the same inaccurate or incomplete stories. News corporations place emphasis on the financial aspect of journalism, rather than on newsroom and story quality.

Writer and editor Dean Starkman quotes the Project for Excellence in

Journalism’s 2008 report: “In today’s newspapers, stories tend to be gathered faster and under greater pressure by a smaller, less experienced staff of reporters, then

28 Silverman, Craig. “Q&A: Blur Author Tom Rosenstiel.” Columbia Journalism Review.

www.cjr.org/behind_the_news/qa_blur_author_tom_rosenstiel.php?page=all (accessed December 5, 2013).

29 Wickham, Kathleen. “Social Media & Online News.” Lecture from University of Mississippi, Oxford, Miss., November 19, 2013.

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are passed more quickly through fewer, less experienced, editing hands on their way to publication.”³⁰

This “great pressure” is a direct result of the conglomeration of the news media into business-‐oriented practices. As journalism becomes a business, pressure to make profits seems to take precedence over journalistic ethics. However, the ethical principles corporations might ignore are the key to maintaining the credibility with the public that ultimately keeps the journalism business afloat.

Challenges and Ethical Concerns of Today’s Media Coverage

The ethics dilemma in media coverage is simple: with a growing need to beat corporate competitors in reporting while simultaneously sensationalizing a story to pique interest, values such as accuracy and correctness fall by the wayside. In the case of the Columbine coverage—when Internet media was not nearly as

prominent—many praised the local and national news outlets for their sensitivity.

News editor and former reporter Lucia Moses states, “Both [The Denver Post and the Denver Rocky Mountain News] said they strived to be complete, but, above all, sensitive in their coverage.”³¹

Likewise, Dennis Foley, who examined Columbine coverage in the Orange County Register in California, references editor John Doussard, who states:

From the moment [the Columbine shooting] happened, we knew we needed to do two things. One, we needed to give people the news they needed to know without sensationalizing, but with full depth and context. The other

30 Starkman, Dean. “The Hamster Wheel.” Columbia Journalism Review.

www.cjr.org/cover_story/the_hamster_wheel.php?page=all (accessed December 5, 2013).

31 Moses, op. cit., p. 133.

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thing we needed to do—knowing people would have some sense of what happened from television, radio, the Internet—was realize that our main task in using our reporters was to try to find ways to help people the next

morning not only understand what happened, but help them find ways to deal with it in their own lives.³²

Some even advocated that the coverage of Columbine served as a form of psychotherapy, helping victims and their families deal with the trauma of the massacre. “Networks and network reporters note that all such interviews are conducted with the consent of adults and that people are often eager to talk to reporters. Talking about a loved one and about their loss can be cathartic.”³³ This proactive, sensitive coverage exhibited one of the strengths of

Columbine coverage, while one of the media’s most-‐criticized reporting methods involved a live television newsfeed that broadcasted the hiding places of students and footage of the injured and dead to the world.

Trigoboff continues, “While Denver news organizations were praised for extensive, thoughtful and sensitive reporting, the coverage also came to symbolize some of the problems that accompany technological advances in both

newsgathering and personal communication.”³⁴

The article “A Paper’s Painful Duty” also explains that although delving deep into the traumatic and often fresh experiences of these victims might seem

32 "Examining coverage of Columbine." Orange County Register (California).

34 Ibid.

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insensitive, failing to seek and report this information is a failure of the journalist to do his or her duty. The article, with regard to unsealing the autopsy reports of the victims of the Columbine shooting, states, “We should not pretend that the truth will somehow lessen the pain of families who lost children so senselessly. It won’t. But secrecy, which spawns speculation in a vacuum of unanswered questions, has surely proven no salve either.”³⁵

Regardless of the highly criticized live coverage of Littleton’s reaction to the Columbine massacre or the outcry at the media’s perhaps too in-depth reporting, Trigoboff asserts that Columbine coverage remained on the ethically sound side of the figurative moral line—a line that Sandy Hook coverage perceivably crossed.

Interestingly, Trigoboff’s commentary—published in 2000—implies that

journalistic ethics were headed in a desirable direction following Columbine. He states, “[Given] the scope of the event, television news coverage of Columbine was more careful than crazed. And in live coverage of other outbreaks of mayhem since, TV news seems to be behaving responsibly, making the lives of the threatened, not beats or the sensational story, its top priority.”³⁶ However, with the social media boom of the mid-‐2000s, it appears as though sensationalism has ironically become the top priority Trigoboff spoke against over a decade ago. Any mistakes made before or during the Columbine coverage dulled in comparison to those in the Sandy

35 "A Paper’s Painful Duty." Editor & Publisher, December 11. 16. Vocational and Career Collection, EBSCOhost (accessed October 15, 2013).

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Hook reporting, showing a digression from the trend toward compassionate, empathetic coverage and, in turn, a push toward reporting quickly at all costs.

The Sandy Hook massacre, riddled with misinformation and blatant mistakes, confused an entire nation in an instant as coverage swept the Web and cable news. Reporter Joanne Ostrow noted:

Television did its usual best and worst [that] morning to relay information of the latest national horror. For hours, a confusing array of raw information, much of it unconfirmed, was pushed through social media and TV outlets.

More questions than answers kept the spectacle a blur. Were there multiple shooters? How many fatalities? How many of them children? Did the killer or killers have a connection to the school?³⁷

Rather than wait for confirmation, the media prioritized timeliness over truthfulness. “While the media awaited word from tight-‐lipped authorities, reporters filled in with commentary and questions. For hours, the media got the shooter's name wrong. The Internet provided quick, incorrect misinformation.

Speed trumped accuracy.”³⁸

For days, even print articles claimed Lanza’s mother had some sort of prior connection to Sandy Hook Elementary School, from being a kindergarten teacher to a substitute to ultimately having no relation to the institution at all.

Rosenstiel adds that the media’s dependence on others to provide them with verifiable information also hinders quality journalism.

37 Ostrow, Joanne. "News media do their best -‐-‐ and worst." The Denver Post.

December 15, 2012. www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic (accessed October 15, 2013).

38 Ibid.

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The conventional press has historically always been too reliant on

authority, on taking people’s word for things just because they were officials, and being a conduit for those powerful voices… If you’re moving very quickly and you’re passing things along as quickly as can, you have less time to prove and investigate… That’s accelerated now through digital technology.³⁹

Reporters also toed the ethical boundary lines by interviewing children and family members of victims during a raw live broadcast, raising concerns about the genuineness and compassion of media news outlets in the obviously grieving, if not terror-‐stricken, Newtown community. Ostrow continued:

Does it serve any journalistic purpose to put children on live television in the immediate aftermath of a mass shooting? Is it ethically permissible to put shocked parents on live TV, to give the nation a taste of the horror?

Clearly, it serves no purpose other than titillation to put shocked,

underage and vulnerable people on live TV in the moments after a massacre.

Consequences? Those come later.⁴⁰

Thus, it appears as if Sandy Hook coverage took a more sensationalized approach than Columbine coverage in an attempt to garner the nation and world’s attention in the already news-‐saturated Internet age, regardless of accuracy. In order to capture the world’s eye, the media—in all mediums—placed emphasis on fast, fanatical news, not factual reporting.

39 Silverman, Craig. “Q&A: Blur Author Tom Rosenstiel.” Columbia Journalism Review.

www.cjr.org/behind_the_news/qa_blur_author_tom_rosenstiel.php?page=all (accessed December 5, 2013).

40 Ibid.

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Nevertheless, despite the error-‐filled reporting evident in the Sandy Hook coverage, some believe the criticism against journalists concerning accuracy is too harsh. The Topeka Capital-‐Journal took on the criticism in the editorial “Journalism Will Survive Media’s Evolution,” asking, “Are papers sometimes wrong? Do some reporters embarrass the rest? Is bias a problem? Yes, yes and yes, of course.

Journalists are not saints, but they do perform a valuable service for which the rewards are few.”⁴¹

Similarly, in The Globe and Mail, Simon Houpt wrote, "It's part of news literacy today . . . to know that any story is a changing and moving object, and that what gets passed around instantly is not necessarily the final fact of it.”⁴²

In Trigoboff’s cover story, he quotes media ethics expert Bob Steele of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies regarding the imperfections within the

journalism world, especially when covering sensitive issues such as the Columbine and Sandy Hook shootings. Steele states:

Any television network has to accept that there is a possibility of exploitation of coverage of these stories. Coverage of these stories can certainly be

legitimate. But we should not take advantage of these people. What vulnerable people need most is the care and sympathy of people who are close to them. When the journalists leave, the pain and problems will

continue. The national press, the networks have a role to play, but journalists

41 "Journalism Will Survive Media's Evolution." Topeka Capital-Journal (Kansas), sec.

opinion: 4. January 9, 2009. (accessed October 15, 2013).

42 Houpt, Simon. "Messy media coverage's trail of mistakes; News outlets and social media rush to deliver details, spreading misinformation as events unfolded." The Globe and Mail (Canada). December 17, 2012.

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who come from faraway must bring with them a heightened sense of compassion and responsibility.⁴³

Lastly, Maxwell E.P.King adds to his assertion that stories should include not only factual writing, but also good writing, stating, “We can’t take refuge in the excuse that we got all the facts straight in today’s story.”⁴⁴

Media coverage of both the Columbine and Sandy Hook shootings holds significant implications for the future of journalism in the ever-‐evolving

technological world. While Columbine reporters were praised for their empathy in covering the massacre, even the 1999 coverage had weaknesses, some of which were only heightened with the onset of more saturated, instantaneous coverage on the Internet and social media over the course of the next thirteen years. By

December 2012, the media had become nothing less than a hypercompetitive market for pandering to lurid curiosity, and this competition further exposed—if not worsened—the fractures in the ethical foundation upon which journalism is based. However, despite its flaws, the field is an imperfect work-‐in-‐progress, and reporters will have to continually adapt to technological changes affecting the world of journalism and its delicate ethical balance in the future.

44 King, Maxwell E.P. 1995. "The evolution of journalism." Vital Speeches Of The Day 62, no. 5: 150-‐152. Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed October 15, 2013).

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METHODOLOGY

The role and types of media have changed drastically over the past thirteen years, from the increasingly saturated cable television news networks to the more recent advent of social media powerhouses such as Facebook and Twitter. Media coverage and subsequent public perception of sensational news such as school shootings has also changed, especially when examining the media’s evolution from the Columbine High School shootings of 1999 through the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, in late 2012.

Coverage of the Columbine shootings over thirteen years ago still haunts the American public. One of the first major school shootings to draw what was

considered heavy media coverage at the time, Columbine set the standard for news coverage of similar events to come. At the time, print coverage of Columbine was threatened by cable news. Now, with the twenty-‐four-‐hour news cycle in full swing, not only does coverage of sensationalized events run incessantly, the level of

accuracy and integrity in reporting has seemingly declined in the race to produce news before competitors on every news platform, including online.

Although newspapers might have the advantage of time in order to properly fact-‐check, print journalism has also fallen victim to speed over accuracy in

reporting. Newspapers employ online publications in between print editions to remain relevant in the Age of Social Media.

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Thus, the purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between today’s media and hypersensitive issues like the Columbine and Sandy Hook

shootings. The intent of the manuscript is to compare and contrast the coverage of each shooting, beginning with the actual events and concluding with an observation of the media’s handling of each event. This leads to the first research question: (1) What are the similarities and differences of the Columbine and Sandy Hook

shootings in terms of the events themselves and type, main point, length and tone of news coverage?

The second research question seeks to answer the following: How prominent was interpretive, analytical reporting in 1999 versus 2012? The second research question is: (2) How has print media coverage of these crises evolved since 1999, with special regard to interpretative reporting?

The third research question seeks to bring the research into the present, asking: (3) What challenges has online media created for journalists and their ethical principles, especially concerning today’s hypercompetitive nature of reporting and its tendency to produce more erroneous news stories?

Sources for the research include—but are not limited to—newspaper

microfilm from the selected print publications, journalistic texts such as Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel’s The Elements of Journalism, online resources such as the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics and other academic journals and commentary from journalism experts such as Bob Steele of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies and Maxwell E.P. King, former editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

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To complete the research, three print newspapers were analyzed for accuracy, types, main points and tones of articles related to the Columbine and Sandy Hook shootings within the first week of reporting for each event.

The Denver Post served as the source of regional Columbine coverage, as it is

“Colorado’s media leader, reaching more Denver-‐area adults than any television show, radio program, publication or website.”¹ The Post has the largest print audience in Colorado, with over 500,000 daily readers.²

The Hartford Courant served as the source of regional Sandy Hook coverage.

The Courant is the top newspaper in central Connecticut and has a daily audience of 320,465.³

Lastly, The Chicago Tribune functioned as the control source and national perspective of coverage for both events. The Chicago Tribune was selected because of its central location both in the United States and between the two shootings. The Tribune is currently ranked eleventh in average daily circulation among U.S. daily

newspapers.⁴

The first step involved locating archived print material from The Denver Post, dating from April 21, 1999, through April 27, 1999, to evaluate the characteristics of regional Columbine coverage. Note that coverage begins April 21 and not April 20

1 The Denver Post. “The Denver Post Media Kit.”

mediakit.denverpost.com/audience.html (accessed Dec. 5, 2013).

2 Ibid.

3 Hartford Courant. “Hartford Courant.” trb365.com/pdfs/hartford_overview.pdf (accessed Dec. 5, 2013).

4 Chicago Tribune. “Chicago Tribune Business.”

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-‐04-‐30/business/chi-‐newspaper-‐

circulation-‐20130430_1_newspaper-‐circulation-‐neal-‐lulofs-‐chicago-‐tribune-‐media-‐

group (accessed Dec. 5, 2013).

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(the day of the shooting) because the event occurred between the April 20 and April 21 print final editions. Although stories were originally published in print, these archives were accessed through extras.denverpost.com/news/shotarch.htm.

The second step involved analyzing the control, or neutral, newspaper, the Chicago Tribune, to distinguish differences in the Columbine reporting in Denver

from a national standpoint. The researcher chose the Chicago Tribune as the control newspaper due to its relatively central location both in the United States and

between Denver and Newtown. Articles were accessed by microfilm through the University of Mississippi’s Interlibrary Loan Program.

Step three included the location of Sandy Hook print media, observing the qualities of the Hartford Courant newspaper in Connecticut and its coverage of the shooting from December 15, 2012, to December 21, 2012. Although the research focused primarily on print stories, online material was taken into consideration for context in the accuracy of Sandy Hook coverage. Articles were accessed both by microfilm through the University of Mississippi’s Interlibrary Loan Program and by online archive.

Lastly, much like step two, the research returned to the Chicago Tribune to evaluate differences in Sandy Hook coverage in close proximity to the event and on a more national scale.

A codebook was constructed to assist in the analyses, assessing a total of 435 stories based on the type of story, main point, total length and tone. The material was coded by two researchers, the author and a trained second reader. The

codebook categorized stories based on references to the respective shooting event

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and name of the city and school in which the shooting occurred. The codebook is in Appendix A.

For Columbine, words such as “massacre,” “horror,” “death,” “rampage,”

“carnage,” “gun violence,” “killing,” “bombing” and variations of each were accepted as reasonable references with proper context to the shooting. “Littleton” and

“Columbine” were used as city and school references. School abbreviations such as

“CHS” were also accepted.

For Sandy Hook, similar descriptions to those of the Columbine shooting were accepted, with the exception of references to bombs or bombings. “Newtown”

and “Sandy Hook” were used as city and school references. The school abbreviation

“S.H.” was also accepted.

By coding each story according to its various criteria, the researcher and second coder were able to determine patterns and differences in coverage of the two shootings, specifically regarding the number of articles published and the amount of interpretative, opinionated articles in relation to hard news reporting.